Removable form for ornamental concrete



Sept-"15, I925. I 1,553,427

H. J. BAKER REMOVABLE FORM FOR ORNAMENTAL CONCRETE Filed June 6, 1925 2Sheets-Sheet 1 40 II iI. m

A TTORNEY.

Sept. 15, 1925 1,553,427 H. J. BAKER REIOVABLE FORM FOR ORNAMENTALCONCRETE Filed June 6, 1925 2 Sheetl-She et 2 IWENTOR. JaufiH-Z Emma,

Patented Sept. 15, 1925.

UNITED STATES HUGH J. BAIgER, or INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

REMOVABLE FORM FOR ORNAMENTAL CONCRETE.

Application filed June 6, 1925. Serial No. 35,305.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH J. BAKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at In dianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented a new and useful Removable Form for Ornamental Concrete,of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to produce collapsible and removableforms for molding in place ribbed-slab concrete floors with ornamentalceilings.

Heretofore, for a number of years, ribbedslab concrete floors have beenmolded in place with non-ornamental ceilings, by the use of collapsibleand removable forms. However, when it was desired that the ceilings ofsuch concrete floors be ornamental, it has heretofore been necessary toapply the ornamentation manually after the original concrete has setsufficiently to permit removal of the collapsible forms which providedthe non-ornamental ceilings; usually by first applying a metal-lath dropceiling and then either applying precast plaster ornamental strips tosuch drop ceiling or else applying plaster in plastic form to such dropceiling and shaping it as desired.

By my present, invention, it becomes unnecessary either to use a dropceiling or precast strips or to apply ornamentation by manual labor; forthe ornamentation'may be made by my forms by the original casting of theconcrete in place, so that such ornamentation is complete and finishedwhen the forms are removed. a

In carrying out my invention, I make the forms of a numberof separateparts, some for forming the faces of the joists and some for forming thefloor-slabs between joists, as well as parts'for forming the faces ofthe girders; and provide some or all of these parts, and especially theparts for forming the joist faces and the floor-slabs, with variousraised or depressed portions arranged to provide any desired pattern inthe face of the concrete; which raised and depressed portions aresuitably arranged with respect to the movements which the parts of theforms must have in their removal so that such removal will not only notbe interferred with but will be possible without destroying theornamental pattern formed in the face of the concrete.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention: Fig. 1 is a verticalsection through a ribbed-slab concrete floor, taken perpendicularly tothe line of the joists, and

ly upward from below, showing a fragment of a ribbed-slab concrete floorhaving ornamental ceilings and cast in place on forms in accordance withmy invention; Fig. 3 is a fragmental perspective view, looking obliquelydownward from above, of the forms by which the floor of Fig. 2 is cast;Fig. 4 is a view, on a somewhat smaller scale, of one'unit of the formsembodying my invention, with the corner moldings and the lids omittedto. show the spacing members; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section througha complete unit of which parts is shown in Fig. 4:. I

In the construction of ribbed-slab concrete floors in buildings, thereis usually a flat floor 10 which is crossed on its under side byparallel joists 11 extending in one direction, which joists rest on andspring from parallel beams or girders 12 or masonry walls extending in adirection transverse to the joists. The girders are usually heavier anddeeper than the joists, and have side faces 13 which sometimes flareobliquely upward to make the girder wider at the top than at the bottom,from which side faces 13 the joists 11 spring. When such obliqueness isprovided, it usually does not extend farther downward than the bottomsof the joists. The under faces 14 .of the floor slabs extend betweenadjacent side faces15 of adjacent joists 11 and between adjacent faces13 of adjacent beams 12.

y my invention I make it possible'to make the faces 13,14, and 15ornamental by the actionof the collapsible and removable formsthemselves as the floor is cast in place as a monolith.

Each beam or girder 12, as shown, has a lower substantiallyrectangularportion the bottom and side faces of which are produced by forms-parts20 and 21, which may be supported in any usual or convenient mannerforming no part of the present invention. Boards 22 may rest upon theupper edges of the beam-sides 21 and project outward therefrom toconstitute the forms parts for the horizontal under faces 23 which areshown to the next. Each of these units includes a lid 25, for formingthe face 14, two spaced upright parts 26 for forming adjacent'side facesof adjacent joists 11, and two sofiit pieces 27 projecting outwardoppositely from the basesof the two upright parts 26.

' The soflit pieces 27 are nailed to the upright parts 26 of the units.The sofiit pieces 27 of adjacent units abut, as is clear from Fig. 3;

. and are desirably notched on their "free edges to permit the extensionthrough them of supporting shores 28 up to the level of thcirtop faces,so that such shores 28 may remain in place to support the joists for atime after the remainder of the forms have been removed,

The supporting shores 28 furnish the main support for the units. To thisend, they desirably have scabs 29 nailed on their faces, and woodenjoists 30 extending transversely to the units are supported on thesescabs 29 and bear against the sides of the shores 28 to furnish thesupports on which theunits directly rest. i q

The upright parts 26 on their free faces the faces which are not to beengaged by the concrete are provided with upright cleats 31, whichstiffen these upright parts and join together the several boards thereofif they are made of more than one board each. Nailed tothe uprightcleats 31 are longitudinally extending strips 32 and'33', near thebottom [and top respectively; which strips are thus spaced from theboards 26 by the cleats; Spacers 34; may rest on the strips 32 to spaceapart by the proper distance the two uprights 26 of a unit. 7

The upper ends of the upright cleats 3.1, which may conveniently bebeveled, carry strips of molding 36 which are nailed thereto and thusform rigid continuations ofthe side boards 26.: The moldings 36 may beof a suitable shape to give the desired ornamentation to the cornerbetween the faces 14 and 15, as is indicated generally by the ornamentalportion 37in'Fi'g. 2.' The. parts 26, 27, 31', 32, 33, and'36 at oneside of any unit are desirably all nailed together to form in effect asingle piece.

0n the two such pieces constituting the sides of a unit, the lid 25rests. This lid may be made of any desired number of boards, fastenedtogether by cross-cleats 38, which also serve to strengthen and stiffenthe'lids. Some or all of these cleats 38 may have slightly shortercleats 39 attached to them.

so that the cleats 38 and 39 together serve to position the lidaccurately by co-operation with the strips 33, in which case the ends ofthe cleats 39 abut against the strips 33, and the ends of the cleats 38overlie such strips, as is clear from Figs. 1 and 5.

The lid 25 desirably overlies the upper edges of the moldings 36. Theedges and upper face of the lid 25 may be provided with ornamentation ofany suitable character which does not prevent the removal of such lidfrom the concrete; as by having molding 40 of suitable drawable shapenailed in the desired pattern to such top' face. .As shown, the molding40 is. in cross-section a circular segment of something less than half acircle, for facilitating drawing from the formed concrete. For the samereason, the molding 36 is made without any undercut portions, so that itmay be withdrawn from the formed concrete by movement of the side partsof theunits downward and away from the joists.

he ends of the units may be oblique, to

conform to the oblique faces 13 of the beams or girders 12. To thisend,each unit has two ends parts 4E5,'which rest upon the oblique ends ofthe side boards 26, and may be provided with vertical cross-cleats 4 6.TJl-iile the tops of the oblique end-parts 45 need not be at a lessheight than the bottom of the lid 25, as when the design formed by themolding 36 is to fade away into the oblique faces 13 of the girders, yetit may stop at the height of the upper edges of the side boards 26, topermit end-moldings 4Tcorresponding in general with the moldings 3.6 tobe used to carry the ornamentalcorners 37 across the ends of the panelsbetween adjacent joists 11, as is indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. Themoldings 4L7 may be rigidly attached to the end part and form partthereof. i

In use, the forms are assembled as shown in Fig. 3. The girder forms 20and 21 are mounted on suitable supports. The shores 28 are set up, andthe wooden joists 30 are placed on th scabs 29 nailed to such posts.The's'oflit pieces 27 and upright boards 26 of the various units are setin place, with the parts 27 of adjacent units abutting, and with theboards 26 of each unit spacedapart by the spacers 34. With the boards 26the moldings 36 rigid therewith are put in place. Then the end-parts45-with the endmoldings 47 are laidonthe oblique ends of the boards 26.Finally the lids '25 are laid in place to close the tops of the units,and located in proper position thereon by the cleats 38 and 39. p

Vfhen the forms are thus erected, the con crete 10 of the floorispoured, to fill the'upwardly opening spaces in the forms up to thedesired level of the floor surface. The reinforcement usually providedin the concrete is not illustrated in Fig. 1, as that may be of anysuitable kind and constitutes no part of this invention.

When the concrete is sufliciently set, the forms are removed frombeneath it. This is done without disturbing the ornamentation which hasbeen formed in its under surface. In this removal, the wooden joists aretaken down, after knocking off the scabs 29 if necessary and the spacers34 are taken out; then the parts of each unit are successively takendown, leaving the lid 25 until the last. In taking down the units, theupright parts 26 have their lower ends swung toward each other, carryingwith them the sofiit pieces 27, which can be done without disturbing theornamentation formed by the molding 36. This frees such uprights 26 andthe moldings 36 from their working position. Then the end-parts 41-55are swung downward out of position. This may also carry down with it theend-moldings 47 if they are provided. This clears the way for removingthe lid 25, which is pulled loose from the concret and lowered. All thismay be done while the shores 28 are still in place to support the joists11 while the setting of the concrete proceeds; and these shores areremoved some time later.

In removing the forms, the ornamentation is such that the movements ofthe various form-parts may be obtained without marring suchornamentation. In other words, all the forms-parts, including theornamentation-forming members thereof, are made so that they'will drawfrom the concrete. This makes it possible to produce ornamental ceilingfaces of monolithic ribbedslab floors molded in place.

I claim as my invention:

1. Removable forms for concrete floor-slab constructions of the joisttype, comprising units each of which includes uprights for forming joistfaces and lids for forming the ceiling faces between joists and endparts, said uprights, lids, and end parts being separable, and some orall of said formsparts being provided with ornamentationforming portionsso shaped that they permit the forms-parts to be withdrawn from theconcrete as they are removed without disturbing the ornamentationproduced in the concrete.

2. Removable forms as set forth in claim 1, with the addition that saiduprights are oblique at the ends and that said end-parts rest on theoblique ends of said uprights, which end-parts also includeornamentation-forming portions of such shape that they may be withdrawnfrom the concrete without mutilating the ornamentation.

3. Removable forms as set forth in claim 1, with the addition that saiduprights are oblique at the ends and that said end-parts rest on theoblique ends of said uprights.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis,Indiana, this 28th day of May, A. D. one thousand nine hundred andtwenty-five.

HUGH J. BAKER.

